BRUNSWICK — Norman Arthur “Mike” Marriner, 96, died Dec. 22 after a productive and well-traveled life.

A native of Topsham and longtime resident of Brunswick, Marriner was a skilled machinist, a World War II veteran, an avid reader, a story-teller of history, a sports fan and gardener.

He voted Republican in almost every election and tolerated the “misguided” Democrats who seemed to surround him. He was the chairman of the Brunswick Republican Town Committee for several years in the 1950s, and served as a board member of the original BIW Credit Union. He was a machinist at Bath Iron Works for 32 years, retiring in 1976 so he could tour, “this country I love, before I get to old to enjoy it.”

Born on Aug. 29, 1915, he was a son of Percy E. and Annie Rogers Marriner. On June 25, 1941 he married Barbara E. Fisher; they were married 63 years at the time of her death in 2005 and had three children together: Phillip, Jane and Gregg.

Graduating from Brunswick High School in 1935, lettering in both football and baseball, he later served on the Brunswick School Board for 12 years, becoming its chairman twice. He was a longtime member of Brunswick’s First Parish Church, serving on the Church’s Building and Grounds Committee for many years.

He and his wife were early advocates and supporters of the Brunswick Music Theater. In 1987, they endowed the Maine State Music Theater’s Gregg Marriner Award for technical excellence. For many years, the pair opened their own as an “off-stage retreat” for dozens of the theater’s actors and technicians.
 
A World War II veteran, Marriner served in the Pacific aboard the U.S. Navy repair ship Xanthis, entering and clearing ports in both China and Japan. He was an early supporter of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. and was proud to attend its dedication in May of 2004.

He was predeceased by his sons, Gregg A. Marriner and Phillip F. Marriner, and by all of his siblings, William Marriner, Margaret Larrabee and Gladys Jones.

He is survived by Jane M. Connors and her husband Frank of Brunswick; grandson Miles H. Connors and his wife Dina Abbondante and their son Jadon of Belmont, Mass.; granddaughter Abbie M. Morin and her husband George and their son Silas of Brunswick; niece Linda Henderson of West Bath; and several cousins.

A memorial service will be held at the First Parish Church, Maine St., Brunswick on Jan. 7 at 1 p.m., with Rev. Mary Baard and Rev. Geoff F.H. Parker officiating. Internment will take place in the family plot at Roger’s Cemetery in Topsham in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in Marriner’s memory to the First Parish Church, 9 Cleaveland St., Brunswick, ME 04011 or to CHANS Home Health Care, Hospice, 50 Baribeau Dr., Brusnwick, ME 04011.